Diane Chamberlain
Published: St Martin's Press
Date: October 6th 2015
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 352
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Pretending to Dance is a heart wrenching, gut punching, emotionally engaging read. I am still feeling some sadness, some joy as I close the book. Wowee, Diane Chamberlain has again written an amazing book exploring so many issues of the day.
Molly and Aidan, a married couple in their late thirties are wanting to adopt a child and are going through the tough highs and lows of applying. They are a strong, loving couple - they believe honest communication is really important. Yet while Aidan appears to come from a settled family who are still present in their lives, Molly is not so fortunate. Her father is dead, and she says her mother is too. But Molly isn't entirely living out her value of honesty with Aidan, and doesn't want to risk sharing with him her real story.
The novel swings between the journey of Molly and Aidan in the present and the Molly of long ago when she was fourteen and living at Morrison Range in North Carolina with her family. Step by step her life there throws light on the real Molly. Her Dad is a therapist and he and Molly have a very close relationship. Molly is just beginning to explore her independence and exploration into relating with adolescent boys. Her ground is shaken a little as she learns some things about her life that she never knew, and finally sends her into orbit when her Dad dies. She is suspicious and unforgiving of her mother and leaves, cutting off all that she has known.
I loved the people at the Range and the struggles they were challenged with. The way they protected Molly and yet hurt her deeply. While Aidan - Molly's husband is more of a background person I loved how he was able to be there for Molly in important ways.
This book is a celebration of family and the gift of a child with all the joy and worries and grief those things brings. As Molly's Dad would say most if not all families are dysfunctional, yet many are filled with life and love.
This book explores tough issues in a very compassionate and believable way. You'll have to read the book for yourself because to discuss them would be to give too much of the plot away. This is a book that will open your heart and enable you to walk in another's shoes. Loved it. And I just have to say the last four lines give a final punch to the story.
